Packing flexible packages



Fell 6, 1968 w; s. SCHNEIDER ETAL 3,367,489

PACKING FLEXIBLE PACKAGES Filed Jan. l2, 1966 United States Patent O 3,367,489 PACKING FLEXIBLE PACKAGES William S. Schneider, 1765 Rohr Ave., Glendale, Calif. 91202, and Arthur P. Corella, 8166 Vanscoy Ave., North Hollywood, Calif. 91605 Filed Jau. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 520,283 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLGSURE A plurality of packages of an irregular wedge-shape are stacked or nested in novel arrangement in a carton to provide mutual support and economy of space. Especially valuable in the case of packages of thin lilm having fragile, easily deformable walls.

The present invention relates generally to packages with ilexible, deformable walls and especially to stacking or arranging such packages in a box or carton for shipping, display, and the like.

The packages of .primary concern here are those which are made from thin, flexible film, the seams or joints in the packages generally being formed by heat sealing together mutually contacting portions of the lm. Because of the flexible, deformable nature of the packages, they require some external protection during shipment and handling in numbers in order to avoid undue flexing of the lm, rubbingtogether of the packages, and stress concentration at particular points or other contacts that may breach the ilm or loosen the seals, thereby creating resultant leakage problems.

Of course, these problems can be solved by providing a carton having a number of interior partitions or dividers similar to an egg crate; but such an arrangement has a practical objection that it increases greatly the cost of and the volume occupied by a number of the packages, particularly when the individual packages are not of rectangular shape or other regular cross-section. Hence, elimination of such interior partitions in a carton can lead to a substantial reduction in the overall volume occupied by a given number of the individual packages. This is a great advantage from the standpoint of shipping since not only is the gross weight reduced but the minimum cubage is achieved for shipping purposes.

Thus it is a general object of the present invention to provide a compact arrangement for a plurality of packages having ilexible walls in which the packages support each other by mutual contact in a manner to avoid exing the walls or undue wear upon the packages during shipping or other handling.

Another object is to eliminate stress concentration in the package walls by preventing relative sliding or separation of packages at the surfaces thereof in mutual contact.

It is also an object of the present invention to package or arrange in a carton a plurality of ilexible wall packages of irregular shape at minimum cost without employing numerous interior partitions or dividers to isolate and restrain individual packages.

The above objects are achieved with wedge-shaped packages, each having a generally iat base at one end and tapering to a thin edge at the other end, and made of flexible, deformable lm, by an arrangement that comprises a plurality of said packages arranged in at least one layer, each layer consisting of two rows of packages with the packages of one row superposed on and in contact with the packages of the other row but turned endfor-end with respect to the packages in the other row; a

3,367,439 Patented Feb. 6, 1968 pair of spaced, parallel sheets placed one at each of two opposite sides of the layer to confine the packages in the layer; and means restraining said sheets against spreading apart, whereby the two sheets confine the two rows of packages against relative movement. Two superposed packages, one in each of the two rows in a layer, present a general outline which has two sides generally parallel to the restraining sheets. The area of mutual contact on the two packages lies along a plane inclined to these two parallel sides. On occasion, the inclined plane may constitute substantially a diagonal of the parallelogram formed in outline by the two packages.

How the above objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as others not specifically mentioned, are achieved will be better understood by reference to the following description and to the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a packing carton containing a plurality of individual packages, the hinged lid of the carton being raised slightly above the closed position.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the open carton showing the arrangement of individual packages therein.

FIG. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on line 3-3 of FIG. l.

FIG. 4 is a vertical transverse section on line 4 4 0f FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating an alternative arrangement of the packages in two layers in the carton.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly FIGS. l and 2, it will be seen that a plurality of individual packages 1t) are arranged or stacked in a box or carton 12. The packages herein illustrated may be generally described as being wedge-shaped. That is, each package has at one end a at surface, seen at 14 in FIG. 3,v which, being generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the package, can serve as a base upon which the package stands upright. Although the packages are shown in FIG. 3 as having a base of generally circular outline, the invention is not limited in this respect and the bases may have other outlines, such as oval or polygonal.

At the other end, each package tapers to a thin edge 15 which ordinarily is only the thickness of two opposing Walls of the package sealed together. At this end, the package is closed by a transversely extending, heat sealed area 16 at which opposing Walls are sealed together, insideface-to-inside-face, in mutual contact. At the thin end, the packages are wider than at the base, as may be seen clearly in FIG. 2; and it will be apparent that the ends of the seal 16 present sharp corners on the packages;

The film from which the packages are made is thin and flexible. Consequently, the packages themselves are easily deformed and are vulnerable to puncture by rubbing against sharp edges or corners and also to breaking the walls as a result of continued flexing. These characteristics require that the packages be immobilized in a shipping carton and that they should be supported over the maximum possible area.

Carton 12 in which the packages 10 are packed is a parallelogram in cross-section, being usually rectangular. The walls of the carton at opposite sides are parallel; and this is especially true of the top and bottom walls of the carton. Carton 12 is open at one side, designated as the top, and this side is closed by a hinged lid 17 attached along one edge to one of the side walls of the carton. The

walls of carton 12 are made of cardboard or similar material which may be regarded as stift, but not necessarily rigid. As an example of such board, but Without implying any limitation thereto, a satisfactory carton holding one or two dozen packages can be made from board hav- 3 ing a thickness of .O3-.04 inch, it being understood that a thicker or stiffer board may be desired under some circumstances, as in the case of larger cartons or greater weight of contents.

Packages are arranged or stacked inside carton 12 in one or more layers. FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show an arrangement comprising a single layer which is typical of the invention. Each layer consists of two rows of packages 10 with the packages of one row turned end-for-end with respect to the packages of the other row. As will be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, this brings the thin ends 16 of the upper row of packages at the base ends of the packages beneath.

The packages of the two rows are preferably arranged one over the other with the partially flattened sides of the Ipackages in mutual contact over .substantially the full length of the packages. In this way, the maximum amount of area on two superposed packages is brought into mutual contact, thus providing the maximum mutual support.

Since the thin ends of the packages are wider than the base ends, the packages overlap at the thin ends, as shown in FIG. 2. To accomplish this, the -packages may be rotated slightly about their longitudinal axes so that the seals 16 are generally parallel to each other but not in the same plane.

It will be seen from FIG. 4 that two packages .superposed in this manner, when viewed from the side, present an outline which is generally a parallelogram with the mutually contacting surfaces of the packages lying more or less in a plane which is generally inclined to the top and bottom surfaces of the parallelogram. Usually, this plane of mutual contact is substantially a diagonal of this parallelogram.

The top and bottom parallel surfaces of the parallelogram outline present surfaces on the pair of packages which can be engaged by parallel walls of the carton. When only one layer of packages is contained in a carton, the packages of one row rest against the bottom wall 18 of the carton as shown in FIG. 4 While the opposite exterior surface of the upper row of packages is presented to and is engaged by the undersurface of carton lid 17. In this way, the parallel sheets of board provided by walls 17 and 18 of the carton confine the packages in a layer to hold them in the position in which they are originally placed. The lateral restraint applied by two parallel walls or sheets 17 and 1S holds two mutually engaging packages against sliding longitudinally relative to each other as well as against separating at the inclined plane of contact. The restraint against sliding protects the thin edges from damaging contact with the carton walls.

Additional means restraining the pacages against lateral movement is provided by either the end walls 19 of the carton or by contact with adjoining packages, in the case of interior packages in a layer.

Still further restraint is applied to any pair of superposed packages by a combination of either or bo-th of walls 20 of the carton, at the front and back of the carton, or by contact with abutting bases 14 of an adjoining parallel row. Thus in FIG. 4, it will be seen that the lower packages 14 in each of the rows abut against front and back walls 20 of the carton while the two interior packages of the upper rows have their base ends abutting each other.

Thus it will be seen that the packages are conned in general along all four sides, either by contact with adjoining packages or with walls of the carton, such means restraining the packages against movement from their original positions.

In order to maintain this restraint on the packages, means are provided to prevent lid 17 from opening against the pressure of the contents of the carton against it. Such means holding the lid closed may take any one of a number of forms. As an example, but without being limited thereto, lid 17 is provided at two ends with a tab 21 which is adapted to be inserted in a slot 22 in an end 4 wall to hold the lid in the closed position. At the front side, the arrangement is reversed, tab 21 being on the front wall while slot 22 is cut in the flap on the front edge of the lid. Locking elements at three edges of the lid hold it more closely in a position parallel to base 18 than if only the tab at the front edge is used.

Of course, other means may be used to hold the carton closed, such as adhesive tape or an exterior wrapping When packages 10 are made of thin web of the order of 2 or 3 mils, the packages are sensitive to stress concentrations where end seals 16 meet the folds at the ends of the seals. The stacking arrangement of the present invention protects the packages against such concentrations by avoiding loadings against the thin edges 15.

Assuming packages 10 to be tilled with a liquid, it may be undesirable to subject each individual package 10 to much weight from above it, assuming that the packages are maintained in essentially the aspect illustrated. For this reason, a box may have only one layer packed in it. However, there may often be situations in which packages may be stacked in more than one layer. FIG. 5 i1- lustrates a packing arrangement in which there are two layers, one above the other. Each of the two layers comprises two rows of packages arranged as previously described. A U-shaped divider 25 between the two layers supports part of the weight of the two rows comprising the upper layer.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that some changes in the shape of the packages `and their detailed arrangements are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is considered as being illustrative of, rather than limitative upon, the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The combination for packing a plurality of wedgeshaped packages each with a generally flat base at one end tapering to a thin edge at the opposite end and having thin, flexible, easily deformable walls, that comprises:

a plurality of said packages arranged in at least one layer, each layer consisting of two rows each having a plurality of packages with the packages of one row superposed on and in contact with the packages of the other row but turned end-for-end with respect to the packages in the other row;

a pair of spaced parallel sheets placed one sheet at each of two opposite sides of the layer to confine the packages in the layer;

and means restraining said sheets against spreading apart, whereby the two sheets confine the two rows of packages.

2. The combination as in claim 1 in which a pair of superposed packages present a general outline with two sides parallel to the sheets and the area of mutual contact lies generally along a plane inclined to said two sides, whereby each package is restrained against movement along said inclined plane by the combined action of the wedge shape of the other package and the confinement of the parallel sheets.

3. The combination as in claim 2 in which the area of mutual contact is substantially along a diagonal of said outline.

4. The combination as in claim 1 in which the layer comprises two sets of two parallel rows each, with the packages in two rows arranged with their base ends abutting each other.

5. The combination as in claim 1 in which the spaced parallel sheets are two opposite walls of a carton of rectangular cross-section and the parallel sheets are connected around their margins to side walls of the carton.

6. The combination as in claim 1 in which the spaced parallel sheets are two opposite walls of a carton open at one side, one of said sheets being a hinged lid closing the open side of the carton;

and including locking means at edges of said lid connecting the lid to side walls ofthe carton.

7. The combination according to claim 1 in which the packages are wider at the thin end than at the base and the thin ends of the packages in one row overlap adjacent packages in the row.

8. The combination according to claim 7 which also includes means extending parallel to the rows at the ends of the packages to restrain the packages against endwise movement, said last-mentioned means including one wall of the carton.

9. The combination as in claim 8 in which the lastmentioned restraining means also includes a package in an adjoining row.

the center-to-center spacing between packages in a given row is greater than the corresponding dimension of the bases of the packages in the row, whereby the base ends of the packages are spaced apart.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1933 Frostad 229-15 2/1967 Pace 206-65 FOREIGN PATENTS 6/1957 Belgium.

10. The combination as claimed in claim 7 in which 15 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Primary Examiner. 

